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Saturday was the opening for the general rifle season for deer and elk in Montana. Just after sunrise I spotted a lone bull elk feeding across the hillside that I was hunting. Unfortunately, he was on private land that I didn't have permission to hunt, but he was headed in my direction. When he entered a patch of timber, I started up the hill, hoping to be in position when he came out of the timber and off the private land. Again, unfortunately, he came out of the timber before I was in position, and after a few long seconds of him staring at me, he turned and disappeared back into the timber. Because he went back into the private land I didn't pursue him so I left the area and planned to come back in the evening, hoping he would again feed out of the private land. I returned late in the afternoon, and luckily just as the sun was setting, I saw him feeding across an open area on the hill above me. Evidently during the day, he had gone around the back side of the hill, and now he was feeding back toward the private land. I kept a couple of fir trees between me and the bull, and I crept up to the second tree which was about 150 yds from the bull. I used a branch as a rest and steadied the crosshairs of my .300 Weatherby on his chest. As I slowly pressed the trigger, the .300 barked, and a 168 gr Barnes TTSX bullet dropped the bull in his tracks. By the time I climbed up to him and dressed him out it was dark, I propped him open to cool and tied my shirt on his antler to deter any predators during the night. I was back up the mountain at first light the next morning, and my bull was undisturbed except for a few magpies. With the self-timer and remote control for my camera, I was able to get some pictures, before the work of getting him off the hill began. I had brought a thick sheet of plastic that is made for dragging game animals up the hill with me. Even with the plastic, the whole bull was too heavy for me to drag by myself, so I had to cut him in half and was then able to get him down to my truck in two trips. Not the biggest bull in the woods, but since I have two large bulls mounted in my trophy room, this one will nicely fill my freezer.  My Bull and the .300 Weatherby that I built.  NRA Endowment Life Member | ||
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Nice bull and very nice pics - congrats!! Antlers Double Rifle Shooters Society Heym 450/400 3" | |||
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Congrats, that meat will go a long way. Sounds like you had fun. Thanks! Brian Clark Blue Skies Hunting Adventures www.blueskieshunting.com Email at: info@blueskieshunting.com African Cape Trophy Safaris www.africancapesafaris.com Email at: brian@africancapesafaris.com 1-402-689-2024 | |||
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Looks good to me... Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Congrats on the bull. Forgot to say that on the other forum. | |||
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Great bull and that meat will keep you fed for a while. I'm glad that you had to cut him up... If you had dragged that bull uphill alone I would have had to hang up my spurs. Jason "You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core." _______________________ Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt. Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure. -Jason Brown | |||
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Awesome bull - congratulations! | |||
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Love the picture of the Red headed hunting partner. I had one just like it for 17 years. Hunted with me from Colorado to NY and NH and back to KS. One very cold day in NY with the snow just avalanching in, she sat in my lap wrapped in my greatcoat while I shot a buck in the same thicket we were sitting in, just maybe 25 yards away. "The liberty enjoyed by the people of these states of worshiping Almighty God agreeably to their conscience, is not only among the choicest of their blessings, but also of their rights." ~George Washington - 1789 | |||
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Wohoo! Congrats! | |||
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Fantastic. . | |||
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Keep your spurs on, Jason. Poor wording on my part. I took the plastic sheet up the hill to the elk so I could drag him down the hill on it. As I get older, I try to hunt up as much as possible, so the drag will be mostly down.  NRA Endowment Life Member | |||
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Excellent. Your partner takes a great picture. Jim "Bwana Umfundi" NRA | |||
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great job thanks for sharing. glad you got him before the weather changed . Wish I was chasing elk. I call for reports everyday. I Might Be Tired From Hunting , But I Will Never Tire Of Hunting . | |||
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Well done! On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch... Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! - Rudyard Kipling Life grows grim without senseless indulgence. | |||
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Congrats and thanks for sharing. -------------------- THANOS WAS RIGHT! | |||
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Congratulations  | |||
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